The Dillon tribune., 1887-12-02

A pAWNBhOKER'S SHOP.
SCENES IN a PLACE WHERE MONEY
IS MADE OUT Or MISERY.

steps on !. J"wul';ll GoaI--fie":''hS "
We,i,liu:; .;in--Thc Slo" March from
....s!: to Poverty-,.rch Profit for
Little outlay.
\ ,slNnGroher was 3u>ily engaged yHS
tc,glav afternoon luokin-. through HIS
books i'll his shop on the juA~r%. near
Hester street One Of Inspector bN1ne>
;3a.rrtiycs stood 1T his elbow. lunltiEG over
he book ;I>,.. The detective was looking
for some stolen property. which he had
been Informed had been ''plaNtc3' IN this
place. While they were running eyer Tie
items. there was Il sharp ring OF the office
door bell. and IL woman walked slowly to
the counter. Her clothes were ii faded
black and torn in places. There was
tLin.. but sadness in the pinched lines
n her face. and her cmaciated body and
trembling hands told Il story Of woe ana
misery. louder than words. She started
back /; pace or two. as the Pawnbroker
stepped ninlbly in front of her from be-
hind his desk, as if half inclined to get
away from the place altogether. There
were tears in her eyes when she went back
to the counter, and she turned her face
partly around frcm the pawnbroker to
hide her emotion. There is little senti-
ment in the pawnbroker' heart and he
tapped nervously on the counter, waiting
for the woman to say or dO something.
After a moments mental struggle she
took Il heavy gold ring from her finger
and pushed it toward the E.oncy lender.
1t was her wedding ring. TIE pawn
broker examined the ring closel,, weighed
it and tested its quality with acid. Beins;
Js.,.1f ft.,t bn I.i
and ticket on the counter. He did not
ask the wonan'S name: she had been to
see him before SHE clutcl.ed the money
quickly and !3,rr:cd away, trying vainly
t. keep back The sohs tha, welle,t up into
her throat.
We'll. that, the end of her." said the
rawrb.okcr. as the smile of Shylccll
spread .)vy- hi: face and raised wrinkles
on his bald head.
"Whut do you mcan:' he WAS asked.
ut means that I've lost il"r trade ;;n,!
will probably never see her again. No
matter how hard the luck II woman is in the
last thing to go is the wedding ring. Her
husband may have been worthless
scoundrel. bur she will stick to the ring
until there is nothing else to pawn. 4
pawnbrOker is a constant witness of the
decline of the human, race. or at least a
certain portion of it, Watching the slow
march from wealth to poverty il his daily
amusement. Take the case of this
woman 1t is a typical one. She came
here first about two years ago. She was
then gay, well dressed, and had diamonds
in her ears and on her fingers. She threw
off Il diamong ring witt, n careless air aud
asked for a loan, explaining that it was
| only temporary affair, and that she
>,.r,,Ni 1,l i, in io1-S md
She came back again. not to redeem. but
to pledge more of her property. She kept
coming from time to time. until now,
| when all her jewelry and clothing of any
| value is in pawn. ! have watched this
| thing thousands ci times in my forty
years. experience. and it's an old story
"What leads people to pawn their prop
crty:'
in nincty-nine out Of 100 cases rum
and opium. Ii it were not for these things
| pawnbrokers would walk the whole year
round and have little fat on their ribs
! The liquor dealer is The pawnblDker s
best friend. \ loan rarely exceeds one
| third the marketable value Of the goods.
1t is rare thing for Il wo,na" to reteem
| goods. Men sometimes do whcr the prop
erty is valuable, CT. what is oftencr the
case, they sell tine ticket to some friend.
who redeems the goods because he usually
| gets Il bargain. Some people have Il pas
sion for pawning things There is ~ ne
cessity for them to do SO. but it comes
from an eccentric mental condition. such
rs is found in kleptn,raniac. and they
cannot help it..
''Do you have many visits from thieves
with stolen goods
Not as many rs is commonly supposed.
| Nc have ty>.an all ma f.,r
stolen goods, rs ii is not pleasant to have
the reputation of keeping Il fence rh.
l.awnbroker is an adjunct oi the detective
Office, and frequently gives evidence which
| leads to the detection OF thieves. 1t has
been done So often that thieves look with
suspicion on q pawnbroker. and when
they have any goods to dispose Of usually
melt them for old gold or silver, or tax,
them +" another city and pawn them.
Not Il day passes that an attempt is not
made To swindic the poor pawnbroker by
trying to get loan on some valueless
| stuff. !, is not often that we get cauch,
becaus" We have Il test for everything. \
pawnhc";.cr has to have Il good knowledE.
Of values. both Of new and second hand
goods. III order to get al tncr. is in bar
| gain. II is hard sometimes to hear Il pOo,
wretch begging for Il few more pennies
advance un a loan hut it's not hard o J..
| fuse when il is remembered That he les.
money these people have the better The,
urc off. Take ii az the hest. I. p:twnsho;
| is Z. :s!nriIy place. and it only shows tIt
| unr.,a...Et side of hunla! l;,tur<.''
is there any money in the busncS.:'
Upon every package III L ,;awnshop i
written NJ. M This i usually taken I,
mean misery and lnonc: ana il, safe t,
say that the nawner cct>; the misery ant
the paw,l,ro:.aI the money chailcrs
yoN II find :, starving pawnhroi:cr il! II,
| CITY ILnr.. i. Inl .i,,.... l., 1 i.,i, i.a,.